Old Covenant and New Covenant
As believers, one of the most crucial truths we must grasp is the fundamental difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. This understanding isn't just theological knowledge—it's the key to experiencing the abundant Christian life that Jesus promised. When we try to live our lives according to the Old Covenant while under the New, we will be met with frustration, failure, and fear. The Christian life simply will not work.
Jesus Came to Establish a New Covenant
When Jesus was having his last supper with the disciples the night before his crucifixion, He made this declaration in Luke 22:20:
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."
What Jesus was saying is that his death on the cross would be the work that needed to be completed to establish a new covenant. But why would there need to be a new covenant? What was wrong with the Old Covenant?
What Was Wrong with the Old Covenant
The author of Hebrews tells us what was wrong with the Old Covenant in Hebrews 8:7-8:
"For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people..."
The problem with the Old Covenant was that the people couldn't keep it. God had given them the law, but they kept failing in their ability to do what God had told them to do. Their failure to keep the law was met with frustration and fear of how God would have to discipline them for not holding up their side of the covenant.
This was, however, the intent that God had in order to point them to their need for a Savior.
The Old Covenant Law Was Intended to Reveal Sin
In Romans 3:20, the apostle Paul explains the purpose of the law:
"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin."
The law was meant to reveal sin in our lives. God knew that we could not keep the law and would need a Savior, but He had to reveal our sinful nature to us so that we would notice our need for a Savior. The apostle Paul even referred to the Old Covenant as the ministry of death and condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:7-9).
The point of trying to live by the law is to fail, recognize our spiritual death due to sin, and cry out to God for a Savior.
God Fulfilled the Old Covenant for Us
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus declares:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."
During Jesus' earthly ministry, he did not set aside the Old Covenant Law but rather fulfilled it. He never sinned, and He lived a perfect life of dependence on God the Father. He did what no one under the Old Covenant had ever done.
As a result of fulfilling the law and having no sin to pay for Himself, He took all of our sins and placed them on Himself to pay the penalty for them. As He took His final breaths on the cross, He even cried out, "It is finished." All of the work necessary to complete the mission He came for had been accomplished.
The Old Covenant Was Done Away With
The author of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 8:13:
"By calling this covenant 'new,' he has made the first one obsolete."
The Bible says that the Old Covenant is now obsolete, done away with, and no longer valid. That doesn't mean it's not important—the Old Testament has much value. It shows the story of God, reveals how the world was created and what went wrong, and points to the Savior who would come to fix humanity and the world.
But it does mean that we no longer live under the Old Covenant. We are not following the Old Testament law to receive a blessing if we succeed or to be cursed if we fail.
When the New Covenant Actually Began
Many assume the New Covenant began with Jesus' birth because of how our Bibles are organized, but this isn't accurate. The author of Hebrews explains in Hebrews 9:16-17:
"In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living."
The New Covenant could not be established until the death of Jesus had occurred. Jesus Himself alluded to this at the Last Supper when He said His blood would establish the new covenant.
Jesus Taught Under the Old Covenant
If the New Covenant didn't begin until Jesus' death, that means all of His teachings were under the Old Covenant. Paul made this clear in Galatians 4:4-5:
"But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship."
Jesus taught people who were living under the Old Covenant Law.
The Two-Fold Ministry of Jesus' Teaching
Jesus taught to both reveal the condemnation people were in under the law and to inform them of what life would be like under the New Covenant.
In the Sermon on the Mount, for example, Jesus was revealing people's condemnation under the weight of the law. When He said in Matthew 5:48, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect," He wasn't giving us a standard to strive for—He was showing us our need for a Savior.
At other times, Jesus taught about what life would look like under the New Covenant, such as in John 14:16-20 when He promised the Holy Spirit would live in us.
Living Under the New Covenant
The New Way of Living
In Romans 7:6, Paul explains our new reality:
"But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."
The moment we put our faith in Jesus for salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside of us (Ephesians 1:13). The Spirit then becomes our Guide, filling us with power and enabling us to go where He leads us and carry out what He asks us to do. We become a vessel for Him to work through.
Mixing the Old with the New Will Not Work
This new life is a life of dependence on the Spirit's work through you. The old life was a life of self, work, and performing. If you are a New Covenant believer and try to live your life by following Old Covenant ways, you will put yourself back under a system of self, work, and performance.
Just like all the others who failed under the Old Covenant, you will fail too. You will be met with frustration and fear of God's discipline.
Life as New Covenant Spirit-Filled Christians
As New Covenant believers, we do not live the Christian life through Old Testament law; we live life by the Spirit. We don't try to change ourselves through our conduct. Instead, we act and behave a certain way because we've already been made that way by Jesus! As we abide, He produces and expresses His Life through us.
Conclusion: Embracing Your New Covenant Reality
The New Covenant is a unilateral, unconditional, perpetual covenant that has replaced the Old Covenant. Unfortunately, many Christians still try to live as if they are under a bilateral, conditional covenant, which leads to failure and frustration.
Jesus didn't come to die on the cross and establish a New Covenant for you to put yourself back under the Old. He isn't keeping a close eye on you to dish out blessings or curses based on your performance. He did all the work for you and gifted the benefits to you by His grace.
He wants you to rest. He wants you to enjoy Him. He wants your intimacy. He wants you to trust Him and His work through you.
For the New Covenant believer, the Christian life is a life of receiving from Jesus and trusting in what you already have in Him and what He is doing through you in your eternal relationship with Him. Trust in Christ's finished work for you. Trust and depend on the Spirit to be at work in you and through you. This will lead to an experience of the abundant life that Jesus said He came to provide for us.
